The Yankees didn't "Work in the Rain" on Seinfeld Night

 When it rains it pours! The rain soaked away 38 minutes in the Bronx tonight and continued in the 9th and 10th inning as the Boston Red Sox storm back at the last possible second to steal the opener of a weekend set against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Masataka Yoshida hit the game tying blast into the right field seats in the 9th and Ceddanne Rafaela hit the eventual game winning home run into monument park in right center field in the 10th. This loss comes at the worst possible time given the fact that Nestor Cortes was sharp throwing six innings and only surrounding a solo shot by Romy Gonzalez in the 5th inning. This coming off the heels of poor starts from every starting pitcher over the weekend. Luke Weaver danced out of trouble to set the Yankee bats up for some insurance in the bottom of the 8th they ultimately needed but couldn’t secure. With this loss, the Bombers have now dropped four in a row, and five consecutive home games, falling to 54-36, and the season seems to be in the midst of free fall.

This was a game gift wrapped by the Red Sox who threw the ball all over the field and couldn’t catch it, resulting in three Yankee runs crossing the plate. With Cortes’ and Weaver’s efforts, all Clay Holmes had to do was be his usual self and the Yankees could quite the crowd for an evening and get a much needed “W.”

Instead with Boston down to their last strike, the boo birds reached a feverous pitch. The Yankees stranded three runners in scoring position, nine on-base overall,with Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo combined stranding 11 runners on base.

Even though Boston tried to give the game away, the Yankees didn’t do themselves any favors either as Austin Wells and Luke Weaver tempted fate with a throwing error each in the 6th inning. After the rain delay it seemed like the rain washed away the Yankees recent bad fortune and tides were turning for the better as they knocked AL Cy Young front runner Tanner Houck out of the game after just three and third innings thanks to some shootie defense. But at the moment, not even a biblical rain seems like it could change the Yankees play at the moment.

A play that will be highlighted tomorrow is a third inning sequence that ended the bottom half of the inning. The Yankees had runners on first and third with one out. Ben Rice chopped a ball to the first baseman Gonzalez, who threw the ball to the shortstop Rafaela who tagged DJ LeMahieu out in between first and second base to end the inning on a 3-6 double play. Anthony Volpe who was on third base didn’t score on the tag out because of poor hustle which cost the Yankees a much-needed run. Volpe’s lack of hustle comes on the day after Trent Grisham misplays a ball in center, a week and half after Gleyber Torres doesn’t run out a ball to second base, and all of this undisciplined and uninterested play just makes the losing look and feel that much worse. Something needs to change. Whether that’s a benching to a regular that isn’t performing, a big lineup change, or even a demotion or a trade, the Yankees need a spark in the worst possible way. Yes the season is 90 games old and it’s not even the All-Star Break—but this is the breaking point for the Yankees. An ugly game deserved an ugly ending and for the home team, an ugly ending just prolongs a horrifying nightmare.